The Parsa District Court has allowed the government to amend the charge sheet, keeping the charge of cooperative fraud intact.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
The Parsa District Court has ordered the withdrawal of the charges of organized crime against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) President Ravi Lamichhane and Chhabilal Joshi, defendants in the cooperative fraud case. The court has allowed the government to amend the charge sheet, keeping the charge of cooperative fraud intact.
The bench of District Judge Mohan Subedi on Tuesday passed such an order in two cases including Vishal Sahni Godhi, according to court sources. According to the order, the defendants will now face the case only on the cooperative fraud charge, while the organized crime charge will not be maintained.
The District Government Attorney's Office, Parsa, had filed an application in the court seeking amendment of the charge sheet under Section 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 2074 BS. The government had sought permission to drop the organized crime charge while maintaining the cooperative fraud charge.
In the order, the court stated that the demand for amendment was found to be in accordance with the law after studying the initial charge sheet, additional and supplementary charge sheet, complaint, application of the government attorney's office, and arguments of legal practitioners on both sides.
In the order, it was pointed out that the main objective of the cooperative fraud case is to return the savings of the victim and the declarant, and the process of settlement and refund of the amount between the victim and the defendant may become more complicated if the organized crime charge is maintained. The court has concluded that there is no personal interest in the amendment petition filed by the government and that it will protect the interests of both parties.
According to the court order, the charge of cooperative fraud against the defendants will now be maintained. The claim to return the money of the savers who were victims of the fraud will also remain intact. But the charge of organized crime will be dropped.
Earlier, the court had corrected some technical errors in the charge through its orders dated 2082 Poush 30 and then 2082 Magh 2. The latest order has paved the way for the amendment of the charge sheet by including those issues. District Attorney Manoj Prasad Gupta was present in the court on behalf of the government, while advocates Dipendra Jha and Chandrika Prasad Pant argued on behalf of the defendant Ravi Lamichhane.
The order states that it is expected that the process of returning the deposit of the declarant will be facilitated by maintaining the charge of cooperative fraud and dropping the charge of organized crime. The court has also directed that the amended charge sheet be considered an integral part of the original and supplementary charge sheets and kept in the file.
With this order, although the scope of the prosecution in the cooperative fraud case has been somewhat limited, the main claim of returning the depositors' money will remain the same. According to legal practitioners, the order will now focus the hearing of the case on the charges related to cooperative fraud and end the debate on organized crime.
